*Trigger warning - some gore, killings, and death

Chapter 24

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There she was at the front of the army, mustering together all the confidence she had. The sunlight danced on her face, but she remained unswerving, unblinking at the immense light falling undeviatingly into her eyes. Instead, she welcomed it, absorbing in all of the energy, letting each particle of her existence bask in the warmth.

Gone was the dainty girl, gone was the naiveté, and gone were her high expectations. 

In its place stood a strong woman, a willful ruler, and a valiant patriot of her country. 

Her spine was ramrod straight, her hand loosely set on the hilt of her sword, the other clasping the reins of her horse. Her gaze turned hard at the sight of him, her face a rock-solid mask, her teeth gritted behind her lips that were set in a somber line.

Her hair was pulled back and tied into a tight braid, the materialistic accessories on her hair and body missing, but heavy metal and shining steel adorned her. The metal crown on her head was gone, but she wore the crown of faith, strength, devotion, love, and most importantly her confidence.

A few feet behind her were her trusty comrades. 

Her loyal elder sister, motherly figure, her teacher- Suruchi. 

Her once misguided elder brother, one who understood her and provided support to her in her time of need- Dipankar. 

Her ever-faithful soldier, a trusty advisor, and a patriot of his kingdom- the General.

Behind them stood the rows of men and women alike with bravery that lined their faces, with faith and determination marked on their foreheads, were her loyal subjects. The people of the kingdom.

And behind them all, stood the strong, regal stone walls of the age-old fort, who stood firm through the years of thick and thin providing them protection.

The fire of her warm gaze clashed fiercely with the icy coldness of his stare. 

She took a deep breath as she assessed that mocking sneer, that dangerous frame, that rough and tough demeanor, and the arrogance that oozed of him. And she only swallowed.

* * *

His eyes scanned the small army in front of him. He spotted men and women - he scoffed - lined behind her, dressed as soldiers with weapons in their hands. Children and the elderly- children!? were up the high fortified walls of the kingdom with, he squinted, armed with mere bows, arrows, and slingshots.

Where did they get their weapons from? I had ordered them to take away it all when we were departing that day. 

Oh, those puny imbeciles will pay when I get back! They cannot even carry out simple tasks. Fools. He cursed, nose scrunching in annoyance.

But that was not the case. 

A contented smirk pulled at Revati's lips when she saw him scan the fortress and scrunch up his nose in annoyance at the sight of children carrying weapons. She knew he was vexed at his men for not executing his plan properly. 

The flashes of the masterstroke she had taken sent a surge of confidence up her spine.

She sat in her chair, elbows propped on the desk, head in her hands. "Revati, what is it that is upsetting you?" Suruchi's voice had her raising her head.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a stressed sigh. "We have very few weapons now that he had confiscated nearly all of them. Suruchi, only the soldiers have a few weapons. What will the rest of the army fight with? 

Our defeat is certain now. But we will not give up, not lose heart. I'll have to find another way to buy resources." 

The fire in Revati's eyes was merely dampened but not doused, her sister noted.

Suruchi's lips tugged upwards. "Oh yes, what will we do?"

"Suruchi, how can you be amused at this dire situation!?" Revati almost thundered, her expression that of outrage.

Now her amused smile broke out into a grin."You silly goose! It was fun watching you distressed over what we have already solved. We have found weapons in the vault. A few hundred bows and arrows, special slingshots, tons of swords and spears in plenty."

The queen cried out in relief and she jumped to her feet.

"Oh, thank goodness! This is the best news I've gotten in weeks!" She flashed her sister a grin. And the optimistic Reavti was back!

But Ballaraja was slightly taken aback by the determined gleam in their eyes. 

Wait, that's it? Such a small army? They weren't even sufficiently armored. He turned back to his own army. A massive sea of glinting black metals.

Even though it looks considerably smaller than before, must be a trick of the light, they're fully armored and armed with the deadliest of weapons-

-and not to mention the impressive, impeccable training. His brain added as he smiled in triumph already.

"Getting overconfident I see," the familiar voice turned his head back. Revati's lips were tilted in a faint smirk. Her sister's words came flying back to her. You must go ahead with the first blow, gentle but a blow nonetheless.

"Well, with an army of my standing, that is to be expected." The corner of his lips curved into a smug smirk. "A mere a handful of three thousand, as I guessed, most of them left your pathetic kingdom and allied with ours! You should learn to take the winning side, princess, tch, tch, tch... Oh, look! There's the wretched traitor behind you."

Dipankar looked away, with both shame and anger fizzing in him.

Ballaraja was not done yet. "What, the poor princess got so desperate she dragged along the weak creatures to the front line?"

He will insult you, taunt you. But you are stronger than to even flinch at that, you have to be,

"Dare not insult my family again, you monster! The only weak creatures I see are the cowardly flock of black sheep being led by an equally, if not more, cowardly creature with a façade of bravery and one who calls his-weak-self a 'man'!" she retorted as her people mocked him, roaring in laughter at him.

Strike back at him, dent his pride, make people throw laughter at him,

The Maharaja ground his teeth in humiliation, Oh not another word princess!

"What a weak reply, you are the weak one pushing children to their ends!" Ballaraja inclined his head at the young ones.

"Well," Revati said, studying her nails nonchalantly, "this just shows that even eight-year-olds are braver. On the contrary, look at you who's cowardly sitting high and unreachable on an elephant surrounded by numerous warriors, fearing your safety."

Point out at his cowardice, for that will irk men of his ilk,

"Enough!" he lashed out. "Cease wasting time with your chit-chat, be ready to face your death."

"Oh, I will stop talking, gladly. After all, I need room for laughter when you die at the end of the day." Her mocking smile drew into a hard one.

"With what? Peasants?" he scoffed scornfully.

"No, with patriots," she replied confidently, almost feeling like a lion as she uttered those words.

"Look, there's still time. Surrender and live to see a luxurious tomorrow."

The young queen cocked her head to the side. "What about you shut your trap and die to see hell tomorrow? Or better yet, within a few hours?"

This was the last straw, he roared a mighty one. But Revati remained unfazed. Both rulers hollered their permissions of attack at once. And what a sight it was. The evil black ocean colliding with the righteous silver ones as the rising dust engulfed them. The Maharaja sat in his seat far above the chaotic battlegrounds, watching everything and everyone.

Ballaraja's head swiveled to look at another silver army coming from the sides, surrounding his army. Even though he kept his posture and face stoic, his frantic eyes betrayed him. But, the Maharaja did not panic, merely, his thoughts had sped up. 

Wha...? How and where did they come from? How can they have devised such a plan?

It was impossible to summon whole troops from thin air.

His eyes located dark openings from the ground through which the soldiers were pouring out of. 

He cursed. Trapdoors on the battlefield. A clever strategy. But how could they achieve it in mere months? His mouth went dry at the possibility. No, no, she couldn't have. Or could she?

He caught the sight of Revati smiling from afar. The rest of the army had come, at the exact moment when they had planned.

"General, the most awaited moment," Dipankar said.

"Finalising our war strategy." Suruchi supplied.

"Yes. By discovering the tunnels, you have opened up the only path to victory."

"Indeed, General. So here is the plan. We must divide our total army strength into three parts. Two equal parts and the other slightly bigger." Revati moved the biggest pawn over the map placing it in front of the castle. "Here will be the main army. The army that Vaishaktinagar's men will first see. Next-" she moved two smaller pawns, representing the second phase of the plan, on either side of the red pawn which represented the enemy. "-just moments after I call the attack battle cry, they will move in, surrounding the enemy.

Their forces will be taken by surprise, and our forces will have the upper hand at the starting. And, if any soldier of theirs tries to escape," she positioned the black pawns around the grounds. "there're woods all around him and he will run right into the hands of the waiting tribe. And will be unable to call for reinforcements from their kingdom. And then, victory is ours. Am I correct?" she finished.

"Indeed, excellent, my queen," the General praised.

"Well General, it was you, my brother, and Suruchi who discussed it over the week. I just replayed the same thing." Revati smiled.

"You are too kind, Your Highness."

Yes, yes she had. 

She had discovered the Vault of Rahasya. 

His anger flared at the thought of her using it but it was quickly dampened as thoughts of his victory took over. Well, it'll be mine once we win, won't it? His eyes mocked hers.

IF you win, Maharaja. Revati's blazing eyes replied.

The young queen jumped down from her horse gracefully landing on her feet as she fired several arrows. She let out a cry of her own as she thrust her sword into a soldier's gut. She slashed at whoever dared to come in her way. She was a ball of fire, a killing machine who spared none. Many of her own people strayed from her path. Within a matter of moments, soldiers clad in black armor were all around her like shadows creeping in.

She only realized then, I'm cornered. 

Her horse came riding in the nick of time as she clung on to the saddle driving her sword through enemy soldiers and knocking one out with a forceful thud on the head.

She hauled herself onto her horse, her gaze sweeping around her. Many bodies lay lifeless, their blood pooling all around. She gasped.

I...I- is all of this destruction my doing?

Have I truly taken so many lives without remorse? So many lives... they were fathers, husbands, sons, brothers. Their families were waiting for their return, and now the only place they'll go is to the realm above. I did this. I separated them from their families.

Her lips parted in horror. Oh Lord, what have I done?

Her eyes landed on a man whose eye was a bloody mess and him lying wasted on the ground. She willed herself to look away from the gruesome scene at her feet and forced herself to look at the people in front. 

Everything seemed to come to a standstill, mocking her decisions, calling out the results of her rash, fallacious actions. A woman collapsed onto her knees, the red liquid spilling out of her mouth, her eyes meeting her queen's gaze as the life slipped out of her.

She clamped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from sobbing. This was all too much. So much death and destruction. And Revati realized with a startle, she was the cause of all this but would have the luxury of dying a revered, worshipped royal. But her people, who had done nothing wrong but support her, would pay the price of her selfish actions. She was in a catastrophic nightmare, standing amidst all sin in the world.

She wanted to cry.

Until a warm hand came on her shoulder that is, shaking her out of the trance.

"Revati!" Dipankar called out to her. "Sister of mine, all this is NOT your fault. Do you hear me? Their deaths are not your fault, you may have killed them but they were fated to be killed by you."

"But, but I killed them! I took their lives, I took away a life that-"

"-was about to kill you. Listen, they were going to take your life without remorse, maybe even pleasure, but you defended yourself. They are not innocent, they had killed many before too. They would kill your people within a heartbeat had you not put them to eternal rest. If anyone's to blame, it is Ballaraja. He is the one who declared war, he is the one because of whom these men lie dead."

"But, but if I had surrendered, if I had conceded, wouldn't my people be safe?" Her bottom lip quivered, but unnoticeably so. She barely had time to process his words, though she somehow managed to catch the gist of it. She was breathing hard now, struggling to get air into her lungs.

Dipankar sighed exasperatedly. "If you had capitulated, your people would be condemned to a life of suffering. And that is worse than death. And all our ancestors' efforts to build this kingdom into a glorious one would've gone in vain. We are protectors of this kingdom and we will protect it. Shake yourself out of it, Revati. I have been in a few battles to know the experience of the first time you kill someone." He paused to slash a soldier who had charged at him with a long spear.

Revati's eyes went wide. "H-he was mere seconds from killing you!"

"Exactly, it's kill or be killed. Now go on, ruler of Vaibhavgarh, lead your people to victory!" Dipankar nodded reassuringly. 

He watched as she blinked away her guilt and charged forward with a determined glint in her eye. He looked around to spot Suruchi stagger momentarily like Revati but recover quickly and go on with the fighting.

Ah, my wonderful sisters. His lips curved into a smile.

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Hey guys! By this chapter, I have a feeling that you have a feeling, that this book is reaching the end.
Unfortunately, it is not untrue, my friends.
But let us enjoy the journey when we can!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, vote, and comment so I can know :)

Stay Safe❤️
Chinmayi, 14.

P.S: shoutout to he1102u2,BhumikaBV and Shivran86 for being so supportive and dropping helpful comments!❣️❣️